FRANCHISE INFORMATION REPORT · 2020. 9. 21. · FRANCHISE INFORMATION REPORT | 6 THE TOUCHING HEARTS AT HOME STORY CEO AND FOUNDER RENAE PETERSON BUILT OUR SUCCESSFUL COMPANY ON

FRANCHISE INFORMATION REPORT | 1

WHAT IS TOUCHING HEARTS AT HOME?NON-MEDICAL IN-HOME SENIOR CARE FRANCHISE IS COMMITTED TO HELPING AGING POPULATION REMAIN IN THEIR HOMES

Touching Hearts at Home is a unique non-medical home care company that began in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1998, under the name, Caring Companions. Our franchisees provide in-home, non-medical care for seniors and those with disabilities. Owning a Touching Hearts franchise is a worthwhile investment of both time and money for entrepreneurs who desire a rewarding career. With affordable startup costs, a Touching Hearts franchise business answers a great demand in a rapidly growing market, and gives franchisees the chance to make a difference in people’s lives.

Our history and culture also set us apart from competitors. Bringing more than 30 years of franchising and senior care experience to Touching Hearts at Home, our CEO and founder, Renae Peterson, offers franchise owners leadership expertise that can’t be found anywhere else. It’s the compassion and service, which Renae herself built her career upon and teaches our franchisees today, that is our culture and is foundational to our thriving company.

START A TOUCHING HEARTS AT HOME FRANCHISE WITH A LOW INITIAL INVESTMENT

Most entrepreneurs spend hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of dollars opening a new business. Not Touching Hearts at Home. We offer an affordable business to begin, with startup costs ranging from $52,900 to $75,600 for the first six months of business. These costs cover such expenses as: office space, office


equipment, advertising and marketing, insurance and miscellaneous business expenses. Our proven business model takes the guess work out of opening and operating a Touching Hearts at Home franchise, which sets our franchisees up for success from day one.

THE DEMAND FOR NON-MEDICAL, IN-HOME SENIOR CARE IS GREAT AS MOST SENIORS DESIRE TO AGE IN THEIR HOMES

By 2030, the senior population in the U.S. will approach approximately 72 million! That means as most seniors age and want to remain in their homes if possible, there will be a great demand for the services Touching Hearts provides. In the burgeoning industry of senior care, projected to grow rapidly within the next decade, Touching Hearts at Home is in the right place at the right time.

TOUCHING HEARTS FRANCHISE OWNERS HAVE POTENTIAL TO GROW THEIR BUSINESSES QUICKLY

Unlike many of our competitors, Touching Hearts at Home is not saturated in markets across the country. We offer large, exclusive territories

for franchising in high demand locations and are ramping up for rapid expansion nationwide.

TOUCHING HEARTS AT HOME FRANCHISE CHANGES PEOPLE’S LIVES

We see the opportunity to provide caregiving services to seniors as a

privilege that must be met with great integrity, always putting empathy and the belief in the dignity of all people at the forefront of our work.

A Touching Hearts team is often “first in” as loved ones make care plans for their senior family member. Touching Hearts at Home Caregivers help seniors with basic, non-medical tasks of daily living, which help to keep them out of nursing homes and continue to live in their own homes independently for as long as possible. Many of our relationships with clients span several years, even decades — making Caregivers regarded more like family members than service providers. It’s truly a fulfilling career for our franchise owners, who have given peace of mind to thousands of families and added years of quality living to their seniors’ lives.


TOUCHING HEARTS AT HOME STANDS OUT FROM THE COMPETITION

Our franchisees benefit from the unparalleled expertise of our CEO and founder, Renae Peterson. Renae has spent much of her entire career in the franchise industry. Her brother, Dallen Peterson, founded Merry Maids, of which Renae owned two Merry Maids franchises. Years later, she worked closely with ServiceMaster — as a franchisee, a franchisor and a franchise consultant. Renae founded Touching Hearts at Home, which grew into a leading home care provider in the Minneapolis/St. Paul market before she franchised it in 2007.

Renae’s 30 years of experience equip her to coach, train and lead our franchisees with hands-on, personal experience from someone who has successfully run her own franchise business; you won’t find that type of experience in other franchises in our industry.

“We are proud of our company’s culture of service and integrity. To be truly successful in this industry and with Touching Hearts at Home, you really must genuinely care about the people,” Renae says. “Our

most successful owners are authentic, feel good about what they’re doing, want to make a difference and thrive on serving others. We have franchise owners from a variety of backgrounds, but there’s at least one commonality among them: a passion for their work.”

WE HELP AGING SENIORS STAY IN THEIR HOMES, PRESERVING THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE

Seniors who desire to stay in their own homes drive the demand for non-medical in-home care. We are the franchise dedicated to being the solution of choice for our seniors and their families.

We have a passion to serve our clients by enriching their lives with quality care. We provide companion care and assistance to seniors who need help with non-medical, daily tasks of living, such as meal planning, grocery shopping, laundry or light housekeeping. Our Caregivers help clients remember to take medications on schedule, make doctor’s appointments and report to family members any concerns about their loved one’s health or home — just to name a few of the variety of tasks our Caregivers perform with their clients everyday.



THE TOUCHING HEARTS AT HOME STORYCEO AND FOUNDER RENAE PETERSON BUILT OUR SUCCESSFUL COMPANY ON COMPASSION AND SERVICE

The Touching Hearts at Home story begins with our CEO and founder, Renae Peterson, who — in her early twenties — entered the corporate world with a degree in education. After just one year of working in the human resources department for IDS Corporation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Renae decided to pursue a business of her own. Having grown up in an entrepreneurial family and being influenced by her brother, Dallen Peterson (the founder of the Merry Maids franchise), Renae’s true passion was to create a business.

RENAE PETERSON’S EARLY START IN FRANCHISING

At the age of 25, Renae opened a Merry Maids franchise. The first one was a great success, which led to the purchase of a second. Renae ran both

businesses for nine years, becoming one of the company’s top revenue earners. Eventually, she sold the businesses.

A few years later, ServiceMaster purchased Merry Maids. Soon after, Renae’s brother, Dale Peterson, founded ServiceMaster Caring Companions, a home care franchise. Renae then began working with ServiceMaster Caring Companions, first as a consultant. ServiceMaster eventually determined their best business model was to focus within their specialty, the cleaning industry. At this time, Renae took the opportunity to become an independent owner of Caring Companions, which was one of the first senior home care companies in the nation.

RENAE’S SENIOR HOME CARE COMPANY BECOMES A SUCCESS IN THE MINNEAPOLIS AND ST. PAUL MARKET

Renae describes herself as being “groomed” for her position today as CEO and founder of Touching Hearts at Home. Even as a Merry Maids franchisee, she realized there was a great need for a company like Touching Hearts. “When I was running my Merry Maids business, our maids would go to clean an older client’s home but would be there a long time,” Renae remembers. “Maids would come back and say, ‘Renae, I’m sorry I took

so long, but they just wanted to sit down and talk with me.’ So early in my career, I saw that the elderly needed more than just a housecleaning.”

This idea of keeping seniors in their homes put Renae at the forefront of a new industry — non-medical in-home senior care — as she blazed a trail in the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, area with her Caring Companions business. At that time, most people automatically thought their loved ones would go to a nursing home when living independently became difficult. In the beginning, Renae’s Caring Companions clients were reluctant to accept in-home care for their loved ones. “I had to actually convince some people that their family member could stay in the home,” Renae says. “They were so accustomed to thinking that a nursing home was the only option. We knew that with just a little bit of assistance, the senior loved one could continue living independently. I never met a senior who didn’t want to remain in their home.”

It wasn’t long before Renae’s peers started to take notice of her success. “It was a wonderful business — both financially lucrative and personally fulfilling,” Renae says. “We made a difference in so many people’s lives, helped seniors remain independent and

stay in their homes. I had people coming to me on a regular basis, saying, ‘Renae, you’re so successful. What are you doing?’ My success with Caring Companions came from what I teach our Touching Hearts franchisees today. I was committed to helping others and serving the elderly.”

TOUCHING HEARTS AT HOME FRANCHISE IS BORN

When other local business owners asked for help, Renae mentored them. “I had some people who had been in Merry Maids ask me about franchising my senior care business,” Renae says. “I was very satisfied with my business, but I wanted the next challenge. So, seeing the need and the opportunity, I realized that franchising was the perfect next step. I had trained franchise owners, believe in franchise owners and believe in the franchising concept. In January of 2007, Touching Hearts at Home was licensed to sell franchises.”

Today, Touching Hearts at Home is a thriving franchise company in a rapidly growing industry. We are interested in partnering with entrepreneurs across the country who are interested in building businesses built on compassion and service that change people’s lives. We offer low startup costs with a potential for high profits and have large, exclusive territories open throughout the nation. With a rapidly growing senior population, now is the ideal time to open a Touching Hearts at Home franchise.

“Now is a great time to invest in a non-medical home care business,” Renae says, as Touching Hearts at Home is poised for rapid nationwide expansion during the next year. “Baby boomers are aging and the demand is there. It’s not difficult finding clients because everyone wants to stay in their home, and often all they need is a little extra help. Touching Hearts at Home meets that need perfectly.”


TYPE OFEXPENDITURE AMOUNT

METHOD OF PAYMENT WHEN DUE

TO WHOM PAYMENT IS TO

BE MADE

Initial Franchise Fee $39,500 Lump Sum When you sign the Franchise Agreement Touching Hearts, Inc.

Training Expenses $1,000 - $2,000 As Incurred During Training Third Parties

Office Equipment & Computer-Related Expenses

$2,600 - $4,600 As Incurred Prior to Opening Third Parties

Professional/Business Licenses $2,000 - $3,500 As Incurred As Incurred Third Parties

Additional Funds(3 months) $3,300 - $16,000 As Incurred As Incurred

Advertising, Employees, Supplies,

Utilities, Signage

Real Estate and Improvements $2,000 - $5,500 As Incurred As Incurred Third Parties

Insurance $2,500 - $4,500 As Incurred Prior to Opening Insurance Companies

TOTAL $52,900 - $75,600

INITIAL INVESTMENT AND STARTUP COSTSGREAT PROFIT POTENTIAL

Purchasing a senior care franchise is not just investing your money. Investing in a Touching Hearts at Home franchise is a life-changing event. This is a truly unique opportunity to be financially successful while serving others. Given the growth of the senior care industry, and the low start-up costs for a Touching Hearts franchise, the timing could not be better.

Startup expenses for the first six months of your business, including the initial franchise fee of $39,500, total $52,900 to $75,600. The start-up

expenses include: office space, office equipment, advertising and marketing, insurance and miscellaneous business expenses.

The top referral source in our industry remains word-of-mouth from satisfied seniors and their families. We teach our franchisees that building referral sources within their communities is the best way to grow their businesses. Touching Hearts franchisees generate revenue through referrals from hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, assisted living communities, doctors, nurses and social workers.

Other franchises may charge for a variety of services that are included in our up-front franchise fee and ongoing service fee. It’s important to compare these costs when comparing the Franchise Disclosure Documents of the franchises you’re considering.


ESTIMATED INITIAL INVESTMENT

WHO MAKES AN IDEAL TOUCHING HEARTS FRANCHISEE?OUR FRANCHISE OWNERS COME FROM A VARIETY OF BACKGROUNDS BUT ALL HAVE A PASSION FOR HELPING OTHERS

Touching Hearts at Home is a unique brand; what makes us unique is the type of people we attract as franchise owners. We carefully select our franchise owners to join our supportive culture, based upon service, integrity and compassion. Despite their different backgrounds and gifts, all our franchise owners share a commonality: a passion for other-oriented service and a commitment to make people’s lives better.

“Touching Hearts is an absolutely wonderful opportunity — both emotionally and financially — for people who are driven and have that entrepreneurial spirit,” CEO and founder Renae Peterson says. “It’s extremely rewarding to help someone — to know that at the end of the day, you made a difference in someone’s life and you changed it for the better.”


“In addition to the wonderful support that I’ve received from the corporate

office, I’m also very excited to be able to work with the other franchisees. They’ve reached out and have been very open for

me to call and ask them anything. They’ve all gone through the process

and are invested in making my franchise as successful as theirs.”

Suzanne Desfosses-GilliamBuffalo, New York

“The industry is going to continue to grow because of the population

of Baby Boomers. I think we’re right on the ground floor at an opportune time to be able to really service a large group of

people.”

Brandon BriesathMilwaukee, Wisconsin

“I had always worked in the corporate world before. I didn’t want that 9-5, come in, leave, and you don’t make a difference at the end of the day. I wanted to be in an industry that I did feel passionate about, that I

felt was helping people and at the end of the day, you left with a really

good feeling. The outlook for this industry is fantastic. Everybody’s aging and everybody, for the most part, wants to stay at home while they age. They just need a little bit of help to stay where they want to be.”

Kelly GeorgeDayton, Ohio


A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE LEADS MANY TO CHOOSE A CAREER WITH TOUCHING HEARTS AT HOME

Many of our franchisees come to us by way of a personal experience with an aging loved one. Whether their parent or grandparent needed a little extra help with basic chores and companionship for a few hours a week or required almost non-stop care as they declined with a more devastating disease, many of our franchise owners know first-hand the difference senior care made in their families’ lives.

“A big part of why I’m here starts with my grandma, Joella,” Denver franchisee Ryan Fensler says. “I was blessed to be able to spend a lot of time with her growing up. I feel like each day we’re able to surround ourselves with phenomenal Caregivers and go out and make a difference in the community. I don’t know of any other industry where I could get that sense of fulfillment — where we’re giving to others.”

An ideal Touching Hearts franchisee is an individual who wants to own their own business, control their destiny and a person who is dedicated to helping

seniors. Our franchise owners love the professional reward of independent business ownership and the personal reward of knowing their work changes people’s lives. There’s no one-size-fits-all litmus test for success in Touching Hearts, with one exception. All our franchisees thrive on serving others.

TRAINING & SUPPORTFRANCHISEES HAVE ACCESS TO UNEQUALED TRAINING AND SUPPORT FROM SUCCESSFUL AND EXPERIENCED FRANCHISOR

When our franchisees are asked what they most value about our company, they repeatedly mention the same things: a culture of fellowship, an experienced and accessible CEO and founder, and ongoing support to help their businesses succeed.

Touching Hearts’ founder, Renae Peterson, brings incomparable excellence and expertise to her role. After more than 30 years in franchising and in the senior care industries, she’s an invaluable resource for leadership and business training.


From the time the franchise agreement is signed, we are working to provide you with the best in support to launch your business. From finding office space to printing business cards, our corporate team is dedicated to your success. When franchisees call our corporate office, they can be assured their questions will be answered. We help with training, marketing, and technology — and all the other questions franchisees tend to ask from time to time.

“Touching Hearts is a very personal business,” Rochester, New York, franchise owner Mark McDermott says. “Franchise owners have personal interaction with everyone in the office, and they truly care about your success. We’re never treated as a number and are always treated with respect. There’s a proven track with the Touching Hearts business model and that will help you run your own profitable business.”

Here’s an outline of the type and training and level of support you can expect as a Touch Hearts at Home franchise owner:

PRE-TRAINING:

Assistance with licensing and establishing your business entity

Liability and worker’s compensation insurance

Assistance with your new offices and review of your lease

Preparation for your training session

INTENSIVE FIVE DAY TRAINING SESSION:

Training and lodging for two people paid for by Touching Hearts

Training conducted by experienced staff, CEO and existing Franchisees

Extensive training of the key aspects to running your business including Caregiver hiring, training, profiling and retention

Operational and management training

TECHNOLOGY TRAINING AND ASSISTANCE:

We will build you a customized website for your office within TouchingHearts.com

Advice on technology purchases and required software

Training and ongoing assistance with our industry leading, cutting edge cloud-based scheduling, billing, and contact management software, called ClearCare

Access to Touching Hearts’ internal website with Forms, Marketing Materials, Training Packets Guides, Presentations

Direct access to other franchisees in our system


MARKETING:

Sales training and ongoing coaching

Marketing action plan guidance and consulting

Online library of creative marketing materials

Custom website provided and maintained by us

E-brochure and website marketing assistance

Assistance with video content and franchisee examples

Access to experienced peers and their best practices

National and regional seminar marketing education programs

Caregiver recruitment marketing programs and materials

Coaching, marketing and networking systems to key points of business generation

v Marketing/ad custom designs and templates to meet local needs and specifications

OUR PREFERRED PARTNERSHIPS WITH VENDORS BENEFIT EVERY FRANCHISEE

One way that we support our franchisees is by making their jobs a bit easier. We have established preferred partnerships with vendors to help with certain tasks. Because we are a large company, we can negotiate better terms and fees for our franchisees than if they were to try to secure these

services and tools on their own.

We hear great stories from our franchisees everyday about how these services are making running their businesses easier and more profitable.

Your Touching Hearts at Home business will be supported by our CEO/founder and corporate office staff. Through this partnership, your business will grow to meet the demand of the senior population in your community.

Next StepsREADY TO BRING A TOUCHING HEARTS AT HOME TO YOUR COMMUNITY?

At Touching Hearts at Home, we take an educational approach to your discovery process. Our goal is to help you gain a greater understanding of the business of providing non-medical care to seniors.

We believe your decision process will benefit from learning about our franchise first hand from our CEO, directors, and experienced franchisees. Together we will help you decide if a Touching Hearts at Home senior care franchise is right for you.

A member of our franchising staff will reach out to you by phone. The first call usually lasts just a fewminutes and gives us a chance to introduce ourselves to one another and address initial questions.

We are looking forward to hearing from you and are excited that you’re interested in joining Touching Hearts at Home as we rapidly expand across the nation.